Canada’s major cities typically score highly in “best city” rankings. Vancouver is frequently named among the top cities in the world to live, and Toronto also ranks high on many “best of” scales.

But the recent Scorecard on Prosperity report, compiled by the Toronto Board of Trade (the city’s chamber of commerce), reached a different conclusion: based on economic competitiveness as well as overall quality of life, the “best city on the planet” is…Calgary.

Why Calgary? The report noted that:

Calgary’s blistering economy over the past five years may have powered it to the top, but its overall favourable environment provides a solid basis for attracting and keeping people. In the Economy domain alone, Calgary earns seven “A” grades, coming in as the top performer in five indicators: employment growth, income growth, unemployment rate, non-residential building permit growth and total tax index (TTI). On measures of Labour Attractiveness, Calgary’s strength comes from its low incidence of low-income population, low homicide rate and, somewhat surprisingly, its relative housing affordability.

Ranking just behind Calgary were Dallas and Hong Kong, at #2 and #3, respectively. Fourth-place was a four-way tie between Toronto, Boston, London, and New York. Wrapping up the top 10 were Vancouver and Seattle (tied for #8) and Quebec City at #10.

However, the data for this report was compiled when the economy was still flying high, leading the authors to conclude that “Calgary’s continued domination is currently under threat, as weaker energy prices and tighter credit conditions have slowed oil and gas activity in the province of Alberta.”

The full report is available as a PDF file or in an abbreviated online presentation version.

Photo ©Carolyn B. Heller